catch on
Britishverb
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to become popular or fashionable
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to grasp mentally; understand
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Understand, as in Aunt Mary doesn't catch on to any jokes . The verb to catch alone was used with this meaning from Shakespeare's time, on being added in the late 1800s. Also see get it , def. 2.
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Become popular, as in This new dance is really beginning to catch on . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Langton fell head first from three metres to the floor after missing his catch on the horizontal metal bar during the opening day of competition and was taken to hospital.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
But the effort was slow to catch on broadly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
It's a sweltering summer's day and fishermen are unloading their catch on the docks.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Kidd, considered one of the sharpest minds in the NBA, likely will catch on elsewhere.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
When he just looked at me like if he stared hard enough my head would catch on fire, I threw up my hands defensively.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
